


Dormant Sapling

by freckleder



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gardener Yamaguchi, Gen, yamaguchi starts working at a market garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-07 11:24:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5454845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freckleder/pseuds/freckleder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamaguchi applies as a full-time staff member at a market garden and gets accepted. As excited as he is, the fact the he knows nothing about plants or gardening proves to be a hurdle that he has yet to overcome.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dormant Sapling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnguishofMyLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnguishofMyLove/gifts).



> Here is my gift for AnguishofMyLove who asked for a Gardener! Yamaguchi. Merry Christmas!!! I hope you like the way I portrayed Yamaguchi and the involved characters!!  
> This was my first time focusing on one character alone and I had a lot of fun! I didn't want to make it too shippy because I wanted to keep the focus on Yamaguchi himself^^  
> A huge thanks to [ Bree ](https://twitter.com/anaphylaxes) for being my amazing beta-reader!  
> I hope you like it and have a great day!

All you could hear on this particularly hot Saturday night was the chirping of the cicadas. July was just around the corner and the sun had been shining for the entire week, leaving everyone exhausted and drained of energy. Even so, there were still a few people awake, one of those being Yamaguchi Tadashi, an eighteen-year-old high school graduate, about to start the first day at his new job.

Yamaguchi had never been sure of what he wanted to do with his life. Some people had aconcept of their dream job from a very young age but Yamaguchi had been fluctuating from one idea to another. His last year of high school had passed in the blink of an eye and he was still stuck. He didn’t want an office job, that much he knew. One day on his way home from town he had walked past the market garden he always bought flowers for his mom’s birthday and saw that they were looking for full-time staff members.

Suddenly the idea of walking through fields of flowers, carrying plants around and pruning them had seemed like the most intriguing thought Yamaguchi had had in a while. He had applied on a whim. When the letter of acceptance came in the mail he was so excited he put it on his pinboard so he could look at it every day.

Even so, Yamaguchi couldn’t fall asleep that night. His nerves had gotten the better of him, even though Tsukki had assured him that there was no need to be anxious since nobody could do a job perfectly from the start. Yamaguchi tried to take those words to heart but he was still afraid of messing up and being fired without even properly starting.

 

Yamaguchi’s hands were shaking as he walked the short distance to the market garden, following a sign that said _Cut Flowers_. He wasn’t sure if it was caused by his lack of sleep or the strong coffee he drank. His family had made a huge fuss in the morning, everyone was excited about his first day at work.

The market garden consisted of a small shop area where you could by flowers, four green houses and several open fields. It wasn’t as well equipped as a flower shop, since its main purpose was delivering flowers and small plants to other shops. Yamaguchi entered the shop, feeling nausea welling up.

Behind the counter was a tall guy with a large frame. He regarded Yamaguchi with a blank stare but didn’t say anything.

“H-hello. My name is Y-Yamaguchi Tadashi, I’ll be working here from now on,” Yamaguchi introduced himself. He flinched at his own shaky voice.

“Alright, please wait for a moment.” He turned around and walked through the door behind him into the first green house.

Yamaguchi played with the hem of his shirt, unsure where to put his hands. He almost jumped when he heard the guy scream “ _SUGAWARA!_ ” in a deep voice.

He returned a few seconds later. “Someone will be with you in a minute. The area is large, so you will have to do a lot of shouting if you need something from the rest of us”, he added when he saw Yamaguchi’s startled expression.

He nodded eagerly in response, making sure to remember that. The other person didn’t say anything else. Yamaguchi shifted his weight from one foot to another while he stood there in uncomfortable silence.

Yamaguchi looked around the shop while he waited. There were a few gardening tools, some potted plants and plain buckets with water that held different types of flowers. He admired them for a moment, wondering which ones would go nicely with each other. In that moment Yamaguchi became uncomfortably aware of the fact that he knew little to nothing about flowers. Or gardening in general, for that matter. This was a mistake. He had no idea what he was doing here, he was unprepared and had no knowledge of the field he wanted to work in at all.

Just as he started to panic silently another employee walked through the door. “Hello! I’m Sugawara Koushi, nice to meet you.” He reached his hand out to Yamaguchi.

He took it, awfully aware of how sweaty his own hand was. “H-hello. My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi. Thank you so much for accepting my application.”

“Of course, I’m sure you’re going to be a great support for the rest of the staff. Now follow me, I’ll show you around in a second.” Then Sugawara turned to the other employee. “Ushijima, why are you behind the counter? Where did Yachi go?”

“She went to restock the lily fertilizer and told me to take care of any customers until she comes back,” he replied.

“With that stern face of yours you’re going to scare anyone away, smile a bit more when you’re helping out in the shop”, Sugawara said and pointed at his own smile as a demonstration. “Even Yamaguchi was scared just now, right?”

Yamaguchi looked at him with big eyes, caught off guard. How was he supposed to respond to that? “Oh. I guess, a bit.” He laughed nervously, hoping that he didn’t offend him with his answer.

“My bad. I’ll try to smile more in the future”, Ushijima responded with a serious expression.

Sugawara shook his head because he could already tell that this was going to be a futile attempt. Yamaguchi followed him through a door that led to what seemed like the common room. It was equipped with a coffee table and a couch. Along the wall was a shelf which was obviously used by the employees to store their belongings.

“Just put all of your things in here, this is going to be your shelf.” Sugawara said.

Yamaguchi stored his backpack away. He kept his phone in his pocket, uncomfortable with the idea of leaving it behind.

“Here is your apron, along with all the tools you’re going to need. You won’t have to buy anything, we have everything here so let me know when they don’t work anymore.” He handed Yamaguchi a dark green apron like he was wearing himself, along with a heavy bag of gardening tools. Yamaguchi quickly put the apron on and stuffed the tools in his pockets while he hurried behind Sugawara. He tried to tie the knot behind his head as graceful as he could while he was walking.

“Here we have our four green houses. They all have slightly different temperatures and lighting conditions, accommodating the types of flowers and plants we grow in them. It’s going to take you some time to remember which plants you can find in which green house, don’t worry about it if it takes you a bit to find them in the beginning. “Sugawara showed him around, making sure to point out things that he should remember. “You started at 7:30am today but we usually begin our work at 5 am. We have to get the flowers and plants ready and then deliver them to different flower shops. We take turns so you only have to get up that early every other day. This first week will be a trial period for you but, between you and me, this is just a formality, you basically already have the job.”

Yamaguchi tried to take in as much information as possible. He wished he would have taken a notepad with him to write everything down.

“We’re going to take it slow and start with easy tasks at first. Do you have any gardening experience?”

Yamaguchi shook his head. “No, I don’t.” He sounded guiltier than he should.

Sugawara gave him an encouraging smile. “That’s fine, we’ll start with the basics and you’ll get the hang of it soon.”

They walked through the fields, dirt getting into Yamaguchi’s shoes. He noticed that Sugawara was wearing proper gardening shoes that went over his ankle. Yamaguchi made a mental note to get some for himself as well when they stopped at a rose field. The sun was glaring down on them while Sugawara explained to him the process of pruning the roses.

“It’s important to not cut any branches that the rosebushes still need, especially when it’s so hot. That can be dangerous for the plant. If you aren’t sure whether to cut a branch or not, leave it rather than remove it.” Sugawara said. “I’ll help you so don’t hesitate to ask if anything is unclear.”

He showed Yamaguchi how to use the gardening shears without damaging the bushes, then assigned him to one row while he took the one next to him.

Yamaguchi was crouching on the ground. The dirt between his toes was rubbing against his skin. He could feel the beads of sweat slowly dripping down his neck, his bangs sticking to his face. Yamaguchi dragged the back of his glove-covered hand across his forehead. His legs hurt from the uncomfortable position he was in, but he kept going relentlessly. He might not be sure if he was doing everything right but he would still give it his best.

Only when Sugawara told him that it was time for a quick break did he notice how dry his throat has gotten. Yamaguchi got up, when suddenly the ground started to spin underneath his feet. He put his hands on his knees to steady himself, waiting for the dizziness to go away.

“Is everything alright?”

The concern in Sugawara’s voice was enough to make him blush. He stood up straight again, glad that he didn’t faint on his first day of work. “I was just a bit dizzy, I’m good now.”

“Let’s go inside and get you something to drink, you can rest there for a bit. You shouldn’t underestimate the sun, we wouldn’t want you to get heatstroke so take a break if you need one.”

Yamaguchi nodded, thankful that he showed some understanding. He took deep, steady breathes. In the common room Sugawara told him to sit down and drink something. He browsed through a drawer when another person walked in.

“Suga, what are you looking for in there?”

He was a bit taller that Sugawara, dark hair and broad shoulders. He was wearing a shirt, no apron over his head.

“I’m searching for a hat for our new employee over there”, he pointed in Yamaguchi’s general direction. “Yamaguchi, this is the owner of the market garden, Sawamura Daichi.”

Yamaguchi quickly got up from his seat to introduce himself properly. “My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi. Thank you very much for accepting my application”, he repeated once again while he shook hands with Sawamura. His hands were certainly those of someone that worked outdoors a lot, large and rough.

“It’s a pleasure to have you on the team. Suga has given you a tour of this place, I assume. Don’t hesitate to ask him or me if you have any questions”, Sawamura said. “I’m sure we’ll have more time to chat in the future, I’m off to meet a client now.”

“Oh, could you bring me one copy of the gardening magazine I’m always reading? You know which one, I just haven’t had the time to pick this month’s copy up.”

Sawamura nodded. “Sure, I’ll buy it if they have it there.”

After he left Sugawara handed him a bucket hat. It gave off an old, dirty smell but Yamaguchi couldn’t refuse. He tried to keep his facial expression even while he put it on, making the mental note to wash his hair today.

Only now did he notice that Sugawara was wearing a straw hat with a wide brim, to protect himself from the sun.

“Now we’ll prune the other two rows of rose bushes, then we’re done. It’s going to be too hot to work on the fields later.”

That was the plan but apparently Yamaguchi’s previous determination hadn’t paid off too well. He had missed a lot of small twigs that he should have removed, so he had to go over the entire first row again. Sugawara insisted that it was no big deal but he couldn’t shake the queasy feeling in his stomach.

After another short break Sugawara led him into one of the greenhouses. Huge tables held an astonishing amount of different plants. Some were hanging from the ceiling with planters while others stood around seemingly without any order or system. The air was moist and warm, Yamaguchi might have even noticed a film of water on some plants.

“I have to admit, the greenhouses are a bit of an organized chaos. Everything has its specific place but since this area is not for customers the way we arranged the plants has no particular order.  I’m sure you’ll get used to it quickly”, Sugawara assured him.

Yamaguchi swallowed hard. He already screwed up once, he couldn’t allow himself to make another mistake.

They had to water the plants in the hanging planters, so the first step was to take them down from the ceiling. Sugawara was standing on a ladder and handed the flower pots down to Yamaguchi. He would then water them and hand them back up to Sugawara.

Now this was something Yamaguchi could get used to. They worked in silence, only interrupted by short instructions. It was a pleasant silence, both focused on their tasks and Yamaguchi was surprised when Sugawara told him that they were already done.

The plants on the tables and shelves had already been watered. Yamaguchi was hoping that they would make a lunch break soon, he could hear his stomach growling.

“I have something else that I need to do now, so your task will be wiping all those tables clean. We do that every Monday and it will help you familiarize yourself with the plants in here.” Sugawara handed him a washcloth and a bucket of water. “Put the plants on the floor, give the tables a wipe and place them on there again. It doesn’t have to be spick and span, it’s enough to remove the dried up leaves and most of the soil. If you need any help, I’ll be at greenhouse two.”

“Okay, I think I can handle this”, Yamaguchi said.

He didn’t feel pressured by Sugawara’s presence, but he was working more carefree without someone watching every move he made. Yamaguchi began to lift one flower pot after the other up and put them on the ground. He was careful not to knock them over. If he broke one of them on the first day he’d forever be labelled as a clumsy person.

Yamaguchi cleaned two tables when he decided that it the water of the bucket needed to be changed again. It was already dirty, with dissolved soil and petals in it. He wasn’t sure if he could pour that down the drain, he didn’t accidently want to clog the sink.

He put the bucket down and walked to greenhouse two to find Sugawara. It took him a while but he eventually found him crouching by some plants, removing old leaves.

“Ehm..I have a quick question?” he asked after Sugawara didn’t notice him right from the start.

He turned around and cocked his head to one side. “Sure, ask ahead.”

“About the dirty water...should I just pour it in the sink to change it?” God, he must sound like an idiot asking something like that.

Sugawara pushed himself off of the ground. “Daichi once made this wire contraption to catch all the leaves and petals, let me show you how it works real quick.”

Yamaguchi trailed behind him and watched attentively when he showed him how it’s done.

“Thank you! That’s all I needed, I’ll continue now.” Yamaguchi hurried to say, still embarrassed that he made Sugawara come all the way here.

An hour later Yamaguchi was almost done. His arms were aching from constantly lifting flower pots. He hummed, content with himself, while he gave the bucket one last refill.

He was already eager to tell Sugawara that he was done, proud to have done something right from the start. Yamaguchi cleaned the only table still left, then placed the bucket aside and began to rearrange the plants on it. He always lifted them up and rested them on his knee before heaving them onto the platform.

 _“At this rate I need to wash my apron every other day_ ”, he thought as he inspected the dirt stains on it. He didn’t pay attention, lost in thought, so he didn’t immediately notice that his left foot got caught underneath a hose.

Yamaguchi tripped, a small yelp escaping his lips. He flailed his arms around, trying to regain his balance. He didn’t fall but he had reflexively let go of the flower pot he had been holding.

“Fuck...” Yamaguchi mumbled under his breath. Nothing broke since the flower pot was made out of plastic, but garden soil was spread out on the floor. The plant was lying on its side, its roots uncovered, the leaves squashed and broken.

Yamaguchi’s instinct told him to shove the plant and soil back into the flower pot and act like nothing has happened. He paused for a second to think about his possibilities. Even if he tried to do that, the damage was already done. He knew nothing about plant first aid – he would have laughed at that word in another situation – and the crushed leaves couldn’t be fixed in the blink of an eye.

He took a deep sigh, guilt making his shoulders hang low as he walked towards greenhouse two to look for Sugawara. Yamaguchi found him in the exact same spot as he was before.

“Sugawara...ehm, I might need your help again.”

“Just Suga.”

“Eh?”

“Call me just Suga, everyone does.” He knocked his apron off and gave Yamaguchi an attentive look. “Where do you need help?”

“I was almost done but I tripped over a hose and accidently dropped a plant. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I thought I better get some help. I’m sorry.”

Sugawara – no, Suga – shook his head. “This happens from time to time. Let’s take a look at the damage.”

Back in greenhouse one Suga inspected the plant. He made a lot of nondescriptive hmms and ums, while he lifted the leaves and had a look at the roots.

“So?” Yamaguchi asked nervously. He played with the string of his apron, praying to god that the plant would be fine.

“Look at this”, Suga said and beckoned him closer. “Some leaves got squashed. That in itself wouldn’t be a problem, the plant could easily recover from that. But here”, he pushed the leaves away, “you can see that one of the two main branches snapped off. With this one of the two main suppliers for the plant has been cut off, so it’s unlikely that will be able to continue growing for long.”

“Oh”, Yamaguchi said so quietly, it was barely more than a whisper. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want that.”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s your first day, things like this can happen”, he sounded sympathetic but it made Yamaguchi only feel worse. He even praised him for cleaning the tables so quickly and how he deserved a lunch break.

Yamaguchi ate his lunch with a heavy heart. He had been introduced to almost every member of the staff and now they were chatting in the common room. He was obviously the center of attention, so he tried to make some conversation and get to know his colleagues better. Suga collected gardening magazines, Ennoshita loved photography, Yachi designed their website and Ushijima didn’t talk much but was a reliable and friendly person. Yamaguchi was astonished at the group dynamic they had. From previous summer jobs he knew people that hated their job, that laughed and joked around with colleagues and as soon as they left ran them down etc. He had always tried his best to stay away from drama, but he felt welcome here.

In the afternoon he helped Ennoshita to repot seedlings that were ready to grow directly in the soil. Yamaguchi picked up a few helpful tricks from him that he made sure to remember. Suga actually planned to let him go home early for that day, but Yamaguchi insisted on staying longer to finish pruning the last row of roses that was still missing. He put the smelly bucket hat on again and pulled up the sleeves of his shirt. Yamaguchi knew that he couldn’t go home and feel good about himself if he left work unfinished.

 

When he picked up his bag and finally called it a day his stomach was growling. The accomplished feeling he was hoping for didn’t come, all he felt was exhaustion. Yamaguchi walked home, the sun setting above him. At home he was undergoing an interrogation during dinner. Everyone wanted to know how his first day went down. _“Did you have fun?” “Where your co-workers nice to you?” “What did you do?” “Do you like it?”_ He smiled and told them that he had had a great time, that it was difficult in the beginning but he managed.

It wasn’t any better the next day. He came home, tired because he got up at 4:30 in the morning and everyone was just waiting for him to tell some funny stories from work.

When his mother tried to give him a second plate of dessert he got up from his seat.

“I almost forgot, I told Tsukki that I’m going to his place after work. “ Yamaguchi carried his plate to the sink. “I’m not staying for too long, I have to get up early tomorrow again.”

“Alright, have fun and tell Tsukki’s mother that I said hi”, his mom said and handed him a bag of chips for him and Tsukki to eat.

Yamaguchi grinned. “Thanks mom, I’ll be back soon.”

 

He was lying on the cold tiles of Tsukki’s balcony, his feet dangling over the edge.

“Today they told me to manage the shop for a few minutes. They showed me three quick combinations of different flowers in case someone comes in and that’s it”, Yamaguchi said. “An old lady came in, telling me that it was her friend’s birthday and she wanted flowers that symbolized health and a happy life. I didn’t want to disappoint her and just made the meaning of the flowers up.”

Tsukki was lying next to him, his head resting on his hands. “It’s fine, it’s not like she’s going to find out.”

“Tsukki, I lied to an old lady! I feel terrible.” Yamaguchi stretched one arm out towards the dark sky above him. He had often lain here with Tsukki when he was younger, making up constellations and counting stars. “I’m useless. I know it’s not easy starting off but I didn’t expect it to be this hard. I can’t do anything right and I break everything that I touch. “He sighed. “The plant that I ruined yesterday was probably a sign. Maybe you get seven years of bad luck for that too.”

Tsukki clicked his tongue. He always did that when Yamaguchi was going on and on about something that was obvious to him. “You can’t expect to start doing something for the first time and be perfect. It’s going to take some time until you get used to your job.”

“They are all so nice. I don’t get it”, Yamaguchi said. “I wish they’d shout at me for once, then I could apologize properly and move on to the next task.”

“Of course they are being nice to you. It’s not because you’re getting some special treatment, it’s because that is exactly how they started out as well. They’re being understanding. Geez, why do _I_ have to be the one to tell you that?” Tsukki propped himself up on his arms to be able to look at Yamaguchi.

He nodded. “You’re right. But it’s frustrating, I feel like I’m causing more trouble than anything else.”

“Then stop feeling sorry for yourself and get going. You feel bad for not knowing flower language and making something up? Learn it! You keep mixing stuff up? Write it down and remember it properly. Seriously, Yamaguchi, sometimes you’re thinking too complicated.” Tsukki gave him a disapproving look.

“I didn’t know you would get so worked up over this”, Yamaguchi said with one eyebrow raised. “But I get where you’re coming from, I just have to put more effort into this.”

Yamaguchi closed his eyes, enjoying the soft breeze that ruffled through his hair. Most of the time it was him that had to motivate Tsukki, but from time to time he needed a little push as well. People often asked him what he got out of the friendship with Tsukki but he could only shake his head at them. Their friendship might appear onesided at first glance, but most of Tsukki’s subtle signs of caring were only something Yamaguchi could pick up. Years of training, he told himself. But it was true, he could tell when Tsukki went out of his way to make sure he was alright. Yamaguchi could count on him, and it were moments like these that reassured him in that knowledge.

“So you’re not going to tell your family?”

Yamaguchi shrugged. “I don’t know why I don’t tell them how difficult it actually is. They almost seem more excited than me, I don’t want to let them down.”

“This again? They’re happy for you, why would you let them down? I think we cleared this up five minutes ago, everyone sucks when they first start doing something”, Tsukki sighed.

“I’m gonna tell them tomorrow, I promise.”

 

The next day Yamaguchi took paper and pens with him to work and made maps of the four greenhouses and which flowers to find where. He asked Suga about all the different kinds of flowers and plants they had and made a list of all of them. He got home and told his parents that he had messed up a few times and that he didn’t know what he was doing most of the time. He emphasized that he was still having fun and they agreed that it was a learning process and he was doing the best he could.

Yamaguchi sat in his room, his face illuminated by the bright light of his laptop. The only noticeable sound was the scratching of a pen across paper while he wrote descriptions about plants down. He was working on flash cards. They were easy to carry around and the most effective method to learn a lot of information in a short time span. He carefully copied the petals and leaves down, making sure to remember the shapes of their roots, stems and buds.

 

“Question me”, Yamaguchi insisted.

Ennoshita sighed. “You know all of them, I don’t have to ask you.”

Yamaguchi shoved the stack of flashcards towards him. “I insist. One more time.”

It was Friday afternoon. Yamaguchi and Ennoshita lounged in the common room during their lunch break, desperately trying to escape the heat outside.

Yamaguchi had worked hard on improving, he could tell the flowers apart just from seeing their leaves and this weekend he planned to upgrade his flashcards to include flower language. He still remembered the impressed expression on Suga’s and Yachi’s face when they first saw the flash cards. Yachi insisted that he gave her some of his flashcards so she could incorporate the flowers he had drawn on their website. Yamaguchi had been embarrassed at first but he hadn’t been able to hide the pride when he showed Tsukki his cards on the website the next day.

The door opened and Suga walked in, followed by Sawamura.

“Where are the rest of you guys?” Suga asked when he only found Yamaguchi and Ennoshita in the room.

Yamaguchi shrugged. “Probably still working?”

“Daichi?” Suga said with an expectant expression.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll get to it.”

Yamaguchi already knew how things were done here so he already expected the “Gather around, everyone!” that Sawamura shouted at the top of his lungs.

He didn’t know why they should all come around but maybe they would receive new sorts of flowers or a new device next week. They were left to muse about this until Yachi and Ushijima trudged along.

“We have an announcement to make!” Sawamura said with an important voice. “As of today, Yamaguchi is an official employee of this market garden.” He gave him a pat on his back as sign of approval.

“Congratulations!”  Suga said while everyone clapped and handed him his very own straw hat. “This is from all of us, now you don’t have to wear the bucket hat anymore.”

“W-wow. Thanks, you guys”, Yamaguchi stammered. He could feel his cheeks heating up. “I’m..I don’t really know, am I supposed to say something?”

“No, put the hat on”, Yachi said excitedly.

Ennoshita got up from his seat. “I’m going to take a picture so we can add it to the staff wall.”

Yamaguchi was still as red as a tomato when he put the hat on, but Ennoshita insisted on taking a picture to capture that moment. He mumbled something about authenticity that Yamaguchi didn’t quite understand but he let him do as he pleased.

 

When he got home he was grinning from ear to ear.  Yamaguchi proudly showed off his hat and his mom bugged him to get a copy of the picture Ennoshita took of him. They made reservations for Sunday at a nice restaurant in town to celebrate him passing the trail period.

He didn’t stay for long though because there was still another place that he was itching to visit as well.

 

“Careful”, Tsukki hissed, inching away from Yamaguchi’s hands.

“Tsukki, you need to stay still or else it’s going to hurt even more.”

Tsukki rolled his eyes but tried to relax his shoulder while Yamaguchi evenly spread the cool lotion on his back. “How come you never got a sunburn even though you work outside so much? I feel asleep in the deckchair for half an hour and my skin is on fire.”

Yamaguchi grinned. “Isn’t that because you’re so pale you blend into the wall if you stand in front of it and don’t move.” He worked his way up to the nape of Tsukki’s neck.

“That’s just my skin, there’s nothing I can do about it”, Tsukki said. “And I don’t need to get told off by you, look who’s talking.”

Yamaguchi’s arms and legs had become covered in freckles over the past week, even more than usual, along with the tan he had gotten. He tanned easily but he hadn’t been too fond of the freckles that always came along with it when he was younger. Another perk of hanging out with Tsukki was that he was an expert in finding a shady spot at a crowded beach or park and Yamaguchi was only too happy to use his best friend as an excuse to stay in the shadow. It took some time for him to be comfortable enough with himself that he didn’t mind his freckles anymore.

Tsukki sneaked an arm past him and lifted the sleeve of his shirt. “Tch, you’re just as pale as me.”

Yamaguchi always worked in shorts, with a t-shirt on. He ran a finger along the tan line on his arm. “Maybe I should roll up the sleeves of my t-shirt when I work outside? It looks cool when the others do it.”

“Don’t act all cool just because you remember a handful of plants”, Tsukki replied with a playful undertone.

Yamaguchi grinned. “Heh, I know. I’ve still got a long way to go.”

 


End file.
